Every brand running an influencer campaign on a cost-per-acquisition target eventually asks the same question: how many people will click the link? It decides how many creators you need, and whether your CAC target is realistic before you spend a dollar.
Brands ask us this a lot at OpenSponsorship, so we pulled together the ranges we plan with and what we see in our own creator data. Here's how it works.
Click-through rate depends far more on the format than on the creator. The same creator can drive several times more clicks from a YouTube video than from a Reel, because one carries a link and the other sends people hunting for it. These are the planning ranges we use:
| Format | Clicks per 100 views | What it does best |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram Story with a link sticker | 1 to 3 | Most of the clicks on Instagram |
| Instagram Reel, with a link in bio or "DM me for the link" | Under 1 | Reach and desire |
| YouTube integration, link in the description | 0.3 to 2 | Steady clicks that keep coming |
| Dedicated YouTube video about the product | 3 to 8 | The most clicks per view |
These ranges come from published agency and platform benchmarks, and they move a lot with the offer, the call to action and the audience. Treat them as a starting point for planning, then swap them for your own tracked data as soon as the first posts go live.
The link sticker is the only native, tappable link on Instagram, which is why Stories carry most of the clicks on the platform. One to three taps per 100 Story viewers is a typical planning range, and well-produced Stories with a clear call to action can go higher. A few things that consistently help:
Story views also sit well below follower counts, so when you plan a campaign around Stories, ask each creator for screenshots of their recent Story views before you book them.
Reels are the best format on Instagram for getting seen, and the weakest for direct clicks, because viewers have to go to the creator's bio or send a DM to get the link. That extra step is why we plan Reels at under one click per 100 views.
Reels still matter for performance campaigns. They build the desire that makes the Story link work, and they reach people outside the creator's followers. Our favorite Instagram setup is a Reel showing the product in real life, followed by a Story with the link sticker the same day. If Reels are a creator's strongest format, ask them to put the discount code on screen as well, so viewers can buy straight from the Reel too.
YouTube consistently drives more clicks per view than Instagram, for two reasons. The link sits right under the video in the description and in a pinned comment, and viewers on YouTube are often already researching a purchase. A mention inside a longer video typically drives 0.3 to 2 clicks per 100 views, and a video built entirely around the product can drive 3 to 8.
YouTube videos also keep getting found through search for weeks and months, so clicks keep coming long after an Instagram Story has disappeared. For higher-priced products, where people want to see the product properly before they buy, YouTube is where we put the bulk of a performance budget.
Once you have a budget, a CAC target and a website conversion rate, the number of clicks you need falls straight out. Here's a worked example with round numbers:
That last step is the useful one. It turns a CAC target into a clear brief for who to book: creators who can deliver those Story views or YouTube views, whatever their follower count.
If you pay creators a commission on top of a flat fee, keep it in the math. CAC on the flat fee alone can look great while the true cost per order is higher once commission is added.
Views are the other half of the equation, and that's where we have our own data. Looking at creators on the OpenSponsorship roster with 10,000 to 500,000 Instagram followers whose audience is mostly men aged 25 to 44, we found 1,746 who match, with at least 70% of their followers rated as real accounts. 549 of them average more than 75,000 views per Reel, and the median in that group is around 168,000.
That's why we pick creators on views and engagement first. A creator with 20,000 followers averaging 140,000 views per Reel will usually out-deliver a creator with 400,000 followers averaging 30,000, at a fraction of the fee. It's the same pattern we found when we looked at what nano, micro and mega influencers cost: mid-tier creators tend to give the best return per dollar.
For products creators love, a mix works well. Pay a flat fee where a creator's reach justifies it, and offer product plus a commission to creators who love the product and are happy to earn on what they sell. Product-only orders only cost the commission, so they bring blended CAC down, and the product-only creators who sell well become the paid creators for the next campaign. We run both side by side for brands, with every creator on the same brief and their own tracked link.
It depends on the format. One to three clicks per 100 Story views is a solid result on Instagram, 0.3 to 2 per 100 views is typical for a YouTube integration, and a dedicated YouTube video can reach 3 to 8. Reels sit under one because the link lives in the bio.
It varies widely by product, price and how warm the audience is. Use your own website conversion rate for traffic from social as the starting point, then check it against tracked orders from the first week of the campaign.
YouTube usually drives more clicks per view, especially for higher-priced products people research before buying. Instagram is stronger for reach and works best for sales when Reels and link-sticker Stories run together.
Divide what you spend on creators by the orders they drive. To plan ahead, divide your budget by your CAC target to get the orders you need, then divide by your conversion rate to get the clicks you need.
Work backwards from clicks. Once you know the clicks you need and the views each creator delivers, the number of creators follows. A good starting point is 10 to 20 creators a month, then adjust after week one.
OpenSponsorship is an end-to-end tech-enabled agency with 33,000+ athletes and creators. We find the creators whose audiences match your buyer, negotiate the deals, set up tracked links and report clicks and orders per creator, for brands like Walmart, BetMGM and Callaway. You can see how our pricing works here, or email us at info@opensponsorship.com to talk through your campaign.